So the guy who is being investigated fires the guy running the investigation? How much you want to bet Giuliani is the next head of the FBI? This is a terrifying development, and an incredibly dangerous time for our country, and all I can hope is that the Republicans in Congress who still have the guts to stand up to this bully ask the tough questions! This is not Watergate, it's WAY beyond Watergate.

Conservatives have been conducting a slow motion "coup d'etat" over the past 30 years. Gerrymandering. Voter suppression. Judicial manipulation. Propaganda programs to misinform and confuse large swaths of the voting public. The removal of Comey in the midst of a crucial investigation of the President and his enablers is one more step towards the inevitable: the perversion and ultimate destruction of democracy in the US leading to permanent conservative control of the country. This will not end well.

Mr. Comey was fired because he was leading an active investigation that could bring down a president. Though compromised by his own poor judgment, Mr. Comey’s agency has been pursuing ties between the Russian government and Mr. Trump and his associates, with potentially ruinous consequences for the administration.

With congressional Republicans continuing to resist any serious investigation, Mr. Comey’s inquiry was the only aggressive effort to get to the bottom of Russia’s ties to the Trump campaign. So far, the scandal has engulfed Paul Manafort, one of Mr. Trump’s campaign managers; Roger Stone, a longtime confidant; Carter Page, one of the campaign’s early foreign-policy advisers; Michael Flynn, who was forced out as national security adviser; and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself in March from the Russia inquiry after failing to disclose during his confirmation hearings that he had met twice during the campaign with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

This is a tense and uncertain time in the nation’s history. The president of the United States, who is no more above the law than any other citizen, has now decisively crippled the F.B.I.’s ability to carry out an investigation of him and his associates. There is no guarantee that Mr. Comey’s replacement, who will be chosen by Mr. Trump, will continue that investigation; in fact, there are already hints to the contrary.

The sudden dismissal of one of Washington’s most prominent officials added to the sense of chaos in a White House that has been roiled by controversy, dogged by scandal and engaged in a furious fight with adversaries.

Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a post on Twitter that Mr. Comey “should be immediately called to testify in an open hearing about the status of Russia/Trump investigation at the time he was fired.”

"When somebody says it's not about the money, it's about the money." H.L.Mencken

Hong Wu wrote:Maybe this should be merged with the other Comey thread.

No it should stay it will be a great reminder of how the left is so far lost. They don't have 1 piece of evidence that proves their conspiracy propaganda .

we know who really was working for the Russians As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. Uranium One’s chairman used his family foundation to make four donations totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.

And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Mr. Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock.

So- “foundations and investment banks” paid the money you are asking about. This entire deal is so secretive, and lengthy, and tangled- its hard to get it straight. The only thing that is definite is this- this “arrangement” gave Russia 20% of America’s uranium production. Yes- the same Russia that invaded the Crimea, and who supports the Syrian government, while “accidentally” bombing the rebel troops that the U.S. backs.https://www.quora.com/Who-paid-Bill-Cli ... -to-Russia

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Finfinder wrote:the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013

jimjam's Research Department is frantically examining the rational that, somehow, activities surrounding Uranium One some years back provide justification for a sitting POTUS to fire the person who is investigating ........... the POTUS.

Meanwhile, as trump's latest impetuous act in an impetuous management style essentially amounts to a de facto confession of guilt , not everyone is disturbed by his latest abuse of power.

While shock dominated much of the FBI and the White House, the mood was more elated at Roger Stone's house in Florida. Several Stone allies and friends said Stone, who has been frequently mentioned in the investigation, encouraged the president to fire Comey in conversations in recent weeks.

On Twitter, Stone signaled praise for the move by posting an image of Trump from The Apprentice saying, "You're fired."

Stone declined to comment Tuesday night but said he was enjoying a fine cigar.

"When somebody says it's not about the money, it's about the money." H.L.Mencken

jimjam wrote:jimjam's Research Department is frantically examining the rational that, somehow, activities surrounding Uranium One some years back provide justification for a sitting POTUS to fire the person who is investigating ........... the POTUS.

Meanwhile, as trump's latest impetuous act in an impetuous management style essentially amounts to a de facto confession of guilt , not everyone is disturbed by his latest abuse of power.

While shock dominated much of the FBI and the White House, the mood was more elated at Roger Stone's house in Florida. Several Stone allies and friends said Stone, who has been frequently mentioned in the investigation, encouraged the president to fire Comey in conversations in recent weeks.

On Twitter, Stone signaled praise for the move by posting an image of Trump from The Apprentice saying, "You're fired."

Stone declined to comment Tuesday night but said he was enjoying a fine cigar.

Your come back is de facto guilt, which only applies to the right. Hypocrisy is so deep on this one, just yesterday morning the left wanted Comey fired.

edit * I am guessing you would agree with me that by de facto Susan Rice was in fact the person who unmasked US citizens and leaked that information to the Washington Post for political gain during the election, because she refused to testify in congress. Must be true.

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Finfinder wrote:Hypocrisy is so deep on this one, just yesterday morning the left wanted Comey fired.

Finfinder wrote:Susan Rice was in fact the person who unmasked US citizens and leaked that information to the Washington Post for political gain during the election, because she refused to testify in congress

My good friend Finder of Fins is certainly keeping jimjam's Research Department busy. We are now attempting to determine how the wishes of "the left" and Susan Rice's role in the Trump Soap Opera justify the POTUS firing the man who is conducting an investigation into ............. the POTUS.

Our tentative conclusion is that this is all irrelevant and represents FINFINDER's de facto admission that this is simply a cover up/ dodge by his hero Trump.

"When somebody says it's not about the money, it's about the money." H.L.Mencken

jimjam wrote:My good friend Finder of Fins is certainly keeping jimjam's Research Department busy. We are now attempting to determine how the wishes of "the left" and Susan Rice's role in the Trump Soap Opera justify the POTUS firing the man who is conducting an investigation into ............. the POTUS.

Our tentative conclusion is that this is all irrelevant and represents FINFINDER's de facto admission that this is simply a cover up/ dodge by his hero Trump.

I really like a guy who talks in the 3rd person I never met you so not sure you can call me a good friend, your probably a decent guy but I wouldn't know. Stick to the topic of which you brought up. I thought this was an intellectual discussion seems you and some of your like-minded friend remind me all the time of their high intellect. I am simply asking how you apply de facto guilt.

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This firing is a good example of why Trump is a poor choice for President. He liked Comey when Hilary was being investigated but when da Trump is the subject of an investigation, Comey is the devil and needs to go. If he wants the investigation to stop, then he must resign. The longer he stays in office, the worse it will be. A Michigan rep is calling for an independent committee to find out the truth. There must be something there or people would stop sniffing around distrustfully.

About a week ago Comey spoke with Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to request increased resources to conduct the investigation into the Russian election scandal. We can safely assume that Rosenstein informed Trump of this request. I will speculate on what happened next because we absolutely cannot expect the truth from trump and his minions. Trump became very angry and told Rosenstein that Comey must go and he, Rosenstein, must create and expedite the details. Rosenstein comes back a week later with a 3 page letter outlining various Comey missteps involving non other than H. Clinton. This does two things: omits the truth that Comey is being axed because he is endangering Trump as potus and trump can now claim that it was not his idea to dump Comey.

Veritas Vos Liberabit

"When somebody says it's not about the money, it's about the money." H.L.Mencken

Whether or not this had something to do direcetly with Russia or not, it's not a common move. Even Nixon didn't go that far.

On the one hand, (as below) it seems there was at least some link with the Russian investigations.

On the other, it's not the best move to crush such questions. The next guy would be grilled about Russia investigations in senate confirmation if he were a partisan; and he or she would have to investigate this further if he or she were a squeaky-clean person in order to keep the squeaky-clean reputation.

There is, of course, always the possibility Trump Garland's the position and they just let the FBI drift rudderless for the rest of the administration. While that would look fucking awful, it would essentially insulate the president.

PBS wrote:WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump had been seething.

The swirling questions about possible contacts between his presidential campaign team and Russia just wouldn’t stop, and he felt it was overshadowing his early achievements.

Who was to blame? In Trump’s view, FBI Director James Comey.

Comey had allowed the bureau’s investigation to play out in the press, the president told those close to him, and hadn’t done enough to stop leaks about it.

Those simmering frustrations, described by people with knowledge of the president’s conversations, culminated with Trump’s surprise announcement late Tuesday that he was firing Comey. The people recounting the behind-the-scenes activity spoke only on condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions.

White House officials offered a somewhat different version Wednesday of how Trump came to fire Comey, casting his decision as one that reflected an “erosion of confidence” that had long been in the making.

“Frankly, he’d been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. She also expressed the White House hope that the Russia investigation would wrap soon. “We’d love for that to be completed so that we can all move on.”

But for weeks, the Russia investigation has not appeared to be going away.

Comey confirmed in March that the FBI was looking into possible coordination between the Russians and Trump associates. As Trump’s presidency hit its 100-day mark, reporters were still asking questions.

Just last week, Comey answered more questions about it at hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That testimony — during which Comey noted he felt “mildly nauseous” at the thought that his actions in the Hillary Clinton email case influenced the election — made Trump increasingly convinced he wanted Comey gone, according to a White House official.

That’s around the time Comey was asking the Justice Department for more resources to pour into the Russia investigation — an indication the questions will be continuing.

The embattled top lawman told lawmakers he made the request for more help in a meeting with Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general overseeing the Russia probe, according to three U.S. officials. The Justice Department denies there was such a request.

The White House would not say whether Trump knew.

Some allies had been warning Trump since before his inauguration to get rid of Comey, describing him as a Republican who would criticize and do in fellow Republicans, according to one Trump associate.

But a final straw, said Sanders, landed in a Monday meeting among the president, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rosenstein, in which the two Justice officials expressed deep concern about Comey’s leadership.

They had been at the White House on other business when Trump called them in to talk about Comey and asked, “So what do you think?” according to a senior White House official.

The president got an earful, according to Sanders, and told them to put their concerns in writing.

Rosenstein answered with a three-page memo that amounted to a scathing takedown of the FBI director, calling his 2016 disclosures about the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server a “textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.”

Around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Trump called a number of legislators, including Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, a fellow New Yorker, to relay the stunning news that he was firing Comey.

“With all due respect, you’re making a big mistake,” Schumer told Trump.

The president was taken aback, according to a person with knowledge of the call. Apparently the White House had expected Democrats to largely welcome the decision, given their outrage over Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation.

Democrats, though, and even some Republicans are openly skeptical of the notion that Trump decided to fire Comey because of how he’d treated Clinton. They note that Trump last October had publicly praised Comey for having the “guts” to raise new questions late in the campaign about Clinton’s email situation.

As recently as last week, the White House had said Comey had Trump’s confidence.

As for Comey, he was speaking to agents at the FBI’s field office in Los Angeles when news of his firing broke.

The White House had a Trump bodyguard deliver a copy of Trump’s dismissal letter to the Justice Department and sent Comey an email as well, according to a senior administration official. But it’s unclear whether Comey got the word before his ouster was publicly announced.

Television screens in the Los Angeles field office began flashing the news as he spoke, and he initially chuckled. He continued his speech to the agents, finished and headed into an office, according to a law enforcement official who was present.

As commentators on cable TV called Trump’s move an abuse of power, the president was startled and infuriated by how his action was being received, according to a person with knowledge of his reaction.

The White House also did not appear to be prepared for the firestorm. Aides scrambled to rush out a statement on Comey’s firing. But the White House’s email system was running slowly. Journalists raced to Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s office to confirm the news, prompting him to read the statement out loud before disappearing into his office.

Initial reaction from lawmakers was muted, and the White House appeared inclined to let the day finish without sending the president or top aides on television.

But as the response grew more critical, Trump ordered his press staff to get out and defend him.

A trio of senior aides, including Spicer, hastily headed out for TV interviews on the North Lawn of the White House.

That chore completed, Spicer still had to deal with a horde of other reporters. He took a step out of the White House hedges, where he had been waiting after finishing a TV interview, and demanded that the cameras and their lights be turned off.

At the end of a long day, only the dim lights from reporters’ cellphones lit the scene as the White House press secretary spoke, largely in the dark.

Is it possible that the inventors of "fake news" are in fact dispensing "fake news"?

Mr. McCabe (acting FBI director) also said that the Justice Department’s investigation into whether any Trump associates colluded with Russia in the presidential election was “highly significant,” another direct contradiction of the White House.

A day earlier, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, trying to parry accusations that Mr. Comey’s firing was related to the Russia inquiry, called it “probably one of the smallest things that they’ve got going on their plate” at the F.B.I.

Mr. McCabe rejected the White House’s assertion that Mr. Comey had lost the backing of rank-and-file F.B.I. agents, a pointed rebuke of what had been one of the president’s main defenses for the move.

“Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the F.B.I. and still does to this day,” Mr. McCabe said at the hearing.

"When somebody says it's not about the money, it's about the money." H.L.Mencken

Fake news. Donald Trump is not even being investigated. And here's proof:

"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau."

It's right there in the letter Trump exquisitely penned explaining why he had to let Comey go. And it also shows that Comey is not effective, and we need effective in the FBI, who is not investigating Trump.